A cafe opening in Rotorua is taking te reo Maori revitalisation into an unusual commercial space by removing English from everyday use inside the premises.

Set to open on July 30 at Fenton Street, Rumaki Cafe is believed to be Aotearoa’s first full-immersion te reo Maori cafe, where ordering, service, and interaction will all take place in te reo Maori.

Executive director Miraka Davies says the idea grew out of her own experience learning the language through a year-long immersion programme at the University of Waikato in Tauranga.

The cafe will operate with a firm language rule. English will not be used in normal interactions between staff and customers.

“If you’re in there, and take a phone call and you need to speak English on that phone call, we’re going to want you to step outside,” Davies told New Zealand Herald.

She said the intention is not exclusion, but immersion by creating an environment where te reo Maori is the default language of exchange.

The cafe is the project of a charity, Rumaki Trust Board, established in July 2023. The New Zealand's charity register describes the organisation as focussed on kaupapa Maori, and focusses on outcomes for Maori and ownership.

It's main charitable purpose is described as advancing education specifically in te reo Maori, and to benefit the community by undertaking related charitable efforts.

These include creating safe and functional spaces for all be immersed in and use te reo Maori, and providing "ongoing reo education to learners of te reo Maori who are employed, or who who take up work placements, to carry out the operational activities of Rumaki".

For Rotorua, already a major centre for Maori cultural tourism, the cafe represents a different kind of language space, beyond just performance and signage.

The doors are expected to open at the end of July, with the trust saying anyone willing to “give it a go” will be welcomed, regardless of prior knowledge of the language.

Davies said completing Te Tohu Paetahi was “life-changing”, giving her the ability to “function completely in te reo Maori”, though she did not describe herself as fully fluent.

But she said that for many learners, opportunities to actually use te reo Maori in daily life remain limited outside classrooms or Maori-speaking households.

From that gap, she said, came the vision for Rumaki.

“Imagine if just an everyday thing, like having a coffee, or having some lunch, happened at a place where you were surrounded by te reo Maori,” she said.

Rumaki will also introduce a visual system for customers to indicate their level of te reo Māori proficiency when they enter.

Davies said staff will be selected based on their ability to operate in a full immersion environment, rather than prior hospitality experience. The cafe’s menu is being developed by Maori chefs Karena and Kasey Bird.